Twilight Boundary-Chapter 698 - 689: The Identity of the Mountain Lord (Third Update)

"Second Master, have you gone mad?"

Caught off guard, both the Old Clan Chief and Old Yangpi shouted urgently, their expressions growing more horrified with each passing moment. Even Hu Ma, Old Master Sun, and the others nearby had realized what was happening, their faces filled with surprise.

Walking the fire pit was an old tradition in the village. Whenever someone felt deeply wronged, their arguments muddled and their reasoning unclear, they would propose walking the fire pit in their most aggrieved, repressed, and hateful moments. With flames rising ten feet high, it was said that if one walked barefoot with a clear conscience, they would pass through unscathed, leaving no marks. Heaven and earth bore witness, and the ghostly gods acknowledged it. Those most wronged could prove their innocence by walking the fire pit.

However, even within the village, this method was more like a legend. In recent decades, some had attempted it, but almost all had burned to death. Such a death was not merely an end to life but a complete destruction of one's reputation, rendering even death unpeaceful.

"Don't try to persuade me." Second Master looked at the Old Clan Chief and the others, but his gaze lingered more intensely on Hu Ma and his group. He spoke softly, "I believe in the village's rules. I don't believe my life of integrity will end in disgrace here. This bitterness needs to be set right."

"Hu Ma, my boy, I know you've learned powerful skills. Even the Food-Protection General has come to our village and calls me Second Master."

"But now that our skills have grown, should we rely only on them and disrespect these rules?"

"I've lived my entire life believing in these village rules, conducting myself by them. So, I believe I can make it through."

...

As he spoke, he turned to the Old Clan Chief and shouted, "Big Brother!"

The Old Clan Chief shivered, snapping back to reality. His heart was full of reluctance as he muttered, "Fine, fine. You're such a stubborn mule, never listening since you were a child. Even as your elder brother, I could never win a fight against you, but I..."

"I also know what you've lived for your whole life. The ancestors in the village's old fire pit are resting there. I refuse to believe they'd let you suffer this injustice. So go, walk this fire pit!"

"Let everyone in the surrounding villages know my brother is a true man!"

...

Seeing he was resolute, people began to move tables and chairs aside. They dug a fire trench, filling it with charcoal and thorns. Someone was sent to burn incense before the old fire pit, and the lit incense was brought over to be placed by the fire trench.

He still felt pained for his brother, hoping the ancestors would come to protect him.

But whether it would be effective, he had no real assurance.

"This can't happen!"

Seeing the Old Clan Chief give the order, Hu Ma's eyes turned cold. Second Master can't be dissuaded now, he realized. Those earlier words were meant for me. Though he didn't argue aloud, his mind was in turmoil:

I've heard about walking fire pits, but in the jianghu, many such feats involve tricks or special abilities. How could anyone truly walk through with bare feet?

Second Master, despite being robust, hasn't entered the Path. He couldn't possibly endure the agony of the flames.

Besides, according to the true rules of fire-walking, even those on the Path cannot use their abilities.

If they were caught, the injustice would never be cleared.

I have many Methods to ensure Second Master isn't hurt, but if I used them, even if others didn't notice, Second Master himself would never forgive it. In that case, it might be better not to let him walk at all—perhaps forcibly stop him, even lock him up...

Yet, if I did that, Second Master's spirit might be broken forever.

"You seem to distrust these old rules of the mountains?"

As he was contemplating, a soft, sighing voice suddenly sounded beside him.

Hu Ma paused and turned to look. He saw a figure seated on a tree stump in front of a nearby family's main hall. Draped in a wide robe, with indistinct features, it was the Mountain Lord. He had appeared silently, unnoticed by anyone else; only Hu Ma and Little Hongtang had turned to look. Hu Ma quickly said, "Senior, those people outside the village..."

"He is very skilled, not someone from an ordinary Path. I cannot catch him," the Mountain Lord replied softly. "Those few who returned to the village were also struck by a gust of malevolent qi, their minds bewitched."

"This is a Dharma Method of the Evil Sky and Ghost Land. Even I cannot awaken them. They returned to the village to corrupt its people's qi, a way to plant seeds of calamity and nurture an aura of disaster. Such a Method is very rare in this world."

"Your Second Master, his heart filled with resentment, intends to walk the fire pit to stake a claim against Heaven."

"But this Heaven is not the Heaven of old. He will not make it through the fire pit. His resentment will remain, a burden he must carry."

...

"Thank you, Senior!"

Hearing this, understanding dawned on Hu Ma, and he bowed urgently to the Mountain Lord. He understood the Mountain Lord had come to warn him. There's no time to ponder this 'Evil Sky and Ghost Land' or 'planting calamity and nurturing disaster.' All I know is, if Second Master can't make it through, I must stop him, no matter how much the old man resents me for it later.

"Wait."

But the Mountain Lord suddenly stopped him, speaking softly, "If you stop him, your Second Master will never be able to clear his name."

"You have the ability to kill those whose hearts have been invaded by malevolent qi and ensure the news doesn't spread."

"But Heaven and Earth are watching. Some things cannot be hidden. If you do that, you'll play right into their hands. The matter of the Sacrificial Mountain will be lost."

"And when the Three Calamities and Eight Hardships arrive, you won't be able to escape them either."

...

So it really is aimed at me. But I have to admire such cunning tactics; they are truly brilliant. Hu Ma took a deep breath and nodded to himself. Then, he smiled faintly and said, "Then let them come. I don't plan on hiding. But I can't let Second Master suffer this humiliation on my account."

As he spoke, he still intended to step forward, knock Second Master unconscious, take him back to his room to rest, and then investigate the matter concerning Tie Shoupeng.

"Since you feel that way, there's no need to dissuade him."

But at this moment, the Mountain Lord suddenly nodded gently. His gaze seemed to pierce through the figures before him, landing directly on Second Master. He said softly, "The old man believes in the village's old rules. Surely, then, the village's old rules will not fail him."

Hu Ma was startled. "Senior, you..."

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: the Mountain Lord rarely entered the village before. This time, he seems different.

"I am not here for you. I am here for this old man." The Mountain Lord looked at Second Master and sighed softly. "I was born able to discern good and evil in human hearts because I myself was born from the good and evil within them. This old man, with resentment in his heart and his case unclear, wishes to walk the fire pit. Mortals who tread fire are bound to suffer calamity."

"But I can hear it. And since I hear it, I cannot ignore it. With me here, if anyone attempts to use jianghu Path trickery, their Methods will fail. If a mortal treads the fire, the fire will not harm them."

"I came to your village not for you, but because I heard his voice."

"He is the one who called me here."

...

Hu Ma listened, his shock growing. Suddenly, as if he thought of something, he looked at the Mountain Lord with even greater astonishment.

"Senior, didn't you mention that... Evil Sky and Ghost Land..."

...

"Yes." The Mountain Lord nodded lightly. "This world is no longer as clear and bright as it once was. It has been usurped and manipulated by selfish intentions. That is why the wronged die in the fire pit, and why the Three Calamities and Eight Hardships have become tools for some to toy with karma and retribution..."

He sighed gently, gazing out at the deep forests and old mountains, and it seemed as if the entire Old Yin Mountain sighed with him. "Do you know why these mountain folk believe in these old rules?"

"It's because there once were old fellows like us."

"You are one of the most capable masters on the Path, but there are still things in this world you don't understand. These old mountain rules, the things these people believe in—they are the ancestor of all skills on the Path."

"Most of the old fellows are gone now, but after all, I am still here."

As he spoke, he lightly raised his sleeve. His gaze seemed to grow distant, and his expression became strikingly similar to Second Master's determined look from earlier. "For the Hu Family's affairs, I will not overstep my bounds to interfere in the struggles of those people."

"But when these mountain folk cry out for justice, and I happen to hear it, then I cannot sit idly by."

"As long as I am here, even within this Evil Sky, there will still be a sliver of clarity."

"This is the duty I was born to."

...

"So, Senior, you..."

Hearing this, Hu Ma's suspicions were completely confirmed. For a moment, the shock was indescribable.

Listening to the hearts of men, embodying justice itself... Ordinary Lords don't possess such abilities. They merely consume incense offerings and look after themselves. The difference between the Mountain Lord and them... it explains everything...

"The ancestral altar was destroyed, our foundations withered. Old comrades either sank into the City of the Dead, were reduced to dry bones, sealed within altars, or hidden in the netherworld. Now, I am but a Ghost in this Old Yin Mountain..." The Mountain Lord knew Hu Ma had figured it out and sighed softly. "Many people no longer pay any mind to remnant souls like ours."

"If I try to uphold this justice, there are those who will disagree."

"When I do this, he certainly won't be content to just watch. He will make a move. But if he makes a move, he will reveal himself. Whether you can seize that opportunity to capture him will depend on your abilities..." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As he spoke, his figure gradually faded until it vanished completely.

But Hu Ma now understood everything perfectly.

"Brother Ma Zi, quickly, try to persuade him...!"

By now, the fire trench had been dug and filled with charcoal and thorns. Zhou Datong and the others, deeply worried and unable to dissuade Second Master, saw Hu Ma still standing behind the crowd. Feeling a surge of fear, they hurried over to him, pleading. Even Old Master Sun, Yang Gong, and the others turned around, looking at Hu Ma with puzzled expressions.

"I trust Second Master!" Hu Ma let out a long breath, dispelling his frustration, and said to Zhou Datong and the others, "Watch Second Master closely. Make sure he suffers no further grievance, and don't let anyone get away."

"Little Hongtang!" Ignoring the worried cries of Zhou Datong and the others, he called out sharply to the now cheerful Little Hongtang, "Bring out my Punishment Officer's Great Saber!"

"We're going into the forest to catch a ghost!"